#character-driven-fiction

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Books
fromPsychology Today
17 hours ago

Coping With the Up-and-Down Arc of a Prolific Writer's Life

Merrill Joan Gerber's latest book reflects her writing journey from the 1960s to the present, showcasing selected stories from her extensive career.
Film
fromVulture
2 days ago

The Twist in The Drama Is Not the Problem

The film features a controversial plot twist involving a character's past plan for a school shooting, sparking significant online speculation and backlash.
fromVulture
2 days ago

Personal Chekhov: Seagull: True Story and Uncle Vanya, Scenes From Country Life

Molochnikov, who is 33, tall, and good-looking in the Jonathan Groff vein, greeted the audience the night I saw Seagull, personally thanking us for coming to see what he called 'my story.'
Arts
Django
fromGame Informer
1 week ago

Life is Strange: Reunion Review - Rewinding Too Far Backwards - Game Informer

Life is Strange: Reunion revisits familiar characters and settings but lacks the freshness and depth of its predecessor.
Television
fromThe Atlantic
4 days ago

TV's Failing Cure For Middle-Aged Malaise

Imperfect Women exemplifies the decline of the 'messy-mom thriller' genre despite initial viewership success.
#literature
fromThe Atlantic
2 days ago
Books

Unconventional Novels About Conventional People

Aging revolutionaries and conformists share parallel narratives of disillusionment and the loss of youthful dreams in recent literature.
Books
fromThe Atlantic
2 days ago

Unconventional Novels About Conventional People

Aging revolutionaries and conformists share parallel narratives of disillusionment and the loss of youthful dreams in recent literature.
fromVulture
1 week ago

Sure, They Will Kill You, But Can They Get On With It Already?

Realm of Satan captures members of the Church of Satan in droll tableaux, engaging in rituals or group sex, but often seen in mundane activities like beekeeping and hanging linens.
Independent films
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 week ago

Daunting, inspiring, comforting, terrifying: the writers who can make silence as eloquent as words

A vision lay before him: Fleet Street blanketed with snow, silent, empty, pure white, and, at the end of it, the huge and majestic form of Saint Paul's Cathedral. It was a spellbinding moment: the great thoroughfare temporarily devoid of carts and carriages, the cathedral looming blurrily out of the still-falling snowflakes a real-life snow globe.
London
Digital life
fromFast Company
2 weeks ago

Is AI killing the human voice in writing?

Predictive language technologies challenge individual expression by influencing how writers generate and complete their thoughts.
Books
fromThe New Yorker
5 days ago

The Sci-Fi Novelist Who Disappeared for Decades

Cameron Reed's science fiction explores cognitive estrangement, revealing alien worlds that reflect and challenge our own societal norms and moral dilemmas.
Artificial intelligence
fromThe Atlantic
2 weeks ago

The Human Skill That Eludes AI

Generative AI has paradoxically declined in creative writing quality since GPT-2, despite advancing in technical capabilities, with current models producing formulaic, flawed prose despite access to centuries of literature.
#film-vs-literature
Wearables
fromTerry Godier
2 weeks ago

The Last Quiet Thing

Modern smart devices create ongoing relationships requiring constant maintenance, updates, and attention, unlike simple products that remain finished and self-sufficient after purchase.
#fiction
Books
fromPsychology Today
1 week ago

Fiction Is Indispensable to Life's Journey

Fiction is essential for emotional connection, learning, and social cognition, allowing us to escape reality and engage deeply with narratives.
Psychology
fromPsychology Today
3 weeks ago

The Shift That Happens When You Write a Non-Fiction Book

Writing a book transforms tacit knowledge into explicit frameworks, forcing experts to articulate intuitions they've developed through experience into clear, communicable ideas.
Writing
fromBig Think
3 weeks ago

"If it sounds literary, it isn't": The deceptively simple rules behind good writing

Neal Allen and Anne Lamott co-authored Good Writing by combining Allen's 36 writing rules with Lamott's annotations, creating a collaborative guide where Allen explains rules and Lamott provides practical examples and alternative perspectives.
Books
fromBustle
1 week ago

The 10 Best New Books About Women Breaking The Mold

Successful women often defy expectations, and quieter forms of rebellion deserve recognition alongside visible rule-breakers.
fromBustle
1 month ago

Exclusive: Leo Woodwall Breaks Down The *Very* Twisted Ending Of 'Vladimir'

There is an allure about him. There's a warmth to him, and something new about him, but also it's the timing. The backlash of her open relationship with John is really starting to take on a new shape, and I think he's a sort of exciting escape from it too.
Television
fromMedium
1 month ago

Things that don't matter when you write

To deny one's own experiences is to put a lie into the lips of one's own life. It is no less than a denial of the soul. The concept I stick to - my core principle - is simple: I write in plain English, and only when I actually have something to say.
Writing
Arts
fromwww.npr.org
1 month ago

If you loved 'Train Dreams,' here's what to watch next

Train Dreams depicts early 20th-century American working-class life through poetic cinematography, earning four Academy Award nominations for its portrayal of loggers and railroad workers.
Books
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 weeks ago

The best recent crime and thrillers review roundup

Killing Me Softly and Whidbey explore complex themes of trauma, morality, and systemic failures in healthcare and society.
Music
fromwww.npr.org
1 month ago

Why music has become such a big part of the romance novel reading experience

Romance novel readers increasingly use pop music playlists to enhance their reading experiences, creating a community that bridges book fandom and music fandom, exemplified by Charli XCX's Wuthering Heights album.
Television
fromInverse
1 month ago

This Time-Bending Video Game Adaptation Has One Crucial Problem

Life is Strange, a decision-based narrative game, is being adapted into a live-action series by Amazon Prime Studios with Tatum Grace Hopkins and Maisy Stella cast as protagonists Max and Chloe.
Books
fromwww.npr.org
3 weeks ago

Author Luke Kennard talks about his novel, 'Black Bag'

Luke Kennard's novel 'Black Bag' fictionalizes a 1967 psychology experiment where a silent, bagged actor in a classroom gradually becomes liked by students through repeated exposure, exploring how familiarity transforms perception.
Books
fromwww.theguardian.com
3 weeks ago

Daisy Johnson: I wasn't a fan of David Szalay, but Flesh is a masterpiece'

Reading shapes identity across life stages, from childhood memories through formative teenage years to adult perspectives, with specific books creating lasting connections and inspiring creative ambitions.
fromPsychology Today
1 month ago

Burn Your Romance Novels!

The short answer is yes, unless you take fiction for what it is-fiction. When you long for something you don't have, it can lead to dissatisfaction with what you DO have. Romantic fiction has witty, heartfelt dialogue, buckets of romantic gestures, and protagonists who have a preternatural ability to read each other's minds. It's easy to forget it is not real. This can set up unrealistic expectations both conscious and unconscious.
Relationships
Writing
fromVulture
1 month ago

The Horny Girls Who Walked So Heated Rivalry Could Run

M/M slash fanfiction, often written by women and known as BL in Asia, evolved through fandoms like Star Trek, enabling mainstream successes like Heated Rivalry.
fromGameSpot
1 month ago

The Best Co-Op Story Games With Great Tales To Tell

Famous as a series of uncompromising multiplayer JRPG greatness, our one pic from the whole franchise has to be Tales of Vesperia. The game blends classic JRPG storytelling with fast-paced, real-time combat that works surprisingly well in co-op. The story follows Yuri Lowell, a former knight who takes justice into his own hands in a world powered by magical technology.
Video games
#booktok
fromSlate Magazine
4 weeks ago
Books

Something Strange Is Happening With Books. It Could Reshape Literary Culture.

BookTok readers increasingly prefer first-person narrative perspective in romance and fantasy novels, viewing third-person narration as unnecessarily complex and off-putting.
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 months ago
Books

Love, desire and community: the new generation of readers bonding over romance novels

Australian online book communities have rapidly grown since 2020, driving pop-up events, fan merchandise and a young, predominantly female romance and romantasy readership.
Books
fromSlate Magazine
4 weeks ago

Something Strange Is Happening With Books. It Could Reshape Literary Culture.

BookTok readers increasingly prefer first-person narrative perspective in romance and fantasy novels, viewing third-person narration as unnecessarily complex and off-putting.
Arts
fromBrooklyn Paper
1 month ago

At Caveat, Laibson's tech-heavy Chekhov adaptation The HARMNF examines digital-age alienation * Brooklyn Paper

Contemporary theater uses virtual, mixed reality, and AI technologies to create immersive, interactive performances that blur traditional audience and performer roles.
Books
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

Saba Sams: I've no interest in reading Wuthering Heights again'

Jacqueline Wilson's unflinching approach to children's literature, alongside works by authors like Gwendoline Riley and Clarice Lispector, demonstrates that literary courage and emotional complexity resonate more powerfully than conventional safety or virtuousness.
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 months ago

The best recent crime and thrillers review roundup

Obnoxious jewellery dealer Rodney Manderson has been killed outside the Bowery auction rooms, stabbed through the eye with the Victorian hatpin that his boss, Rose Bowery, has brandished in front of the nation on Bargain Hunt. As she discussed the pin's virtues as a deadly weapon as well as its millinerial uses, the fiercely loyal Rilke decides while feeling grateful to have skipped lunch and trying not to think of jelly to remove it before calling the police.
LGBT
Law
fromemptywheel
2 months ago

Chekhov's Back Door Gate Appears in the David Huerta Assault Saga - emptywheel

Huerta intentionally blocked the only available entrance to the search location, encouraged others to join, and those actions contributed to LAPD declaring a riot.
Philosophy
fromAeon
2 months ago

Sure, AI can 'do' writing. But memoir? Not so much | Aeon Essays

Poetry and creative expression served as decisive tests for distinguishing human from machine intelligence via the imitation game.
Social justice
from48 hills
2 months ago

Drama Masks: New looks at 'A Streetcar Named Desire' and 'Eugene Onegin' - 48 hills

Police and ICE violence continues with racial disparities; recent killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti reflect ongoing systemic brutality and public indifference.
National Football League
fromDefector
2 months ago

Heartwarming: Miserable Man Frustrated In Ultimately Insignificant Way | Defector

Bill Belichick failed election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first ballot year despite six Super Bowl victories and controversy.
Video games
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 months ago

It's a loving mockery, because it's also who I am': the making of gaming's most pathetic character

Baby Steps uses deliberate frustration and an inept, awkward protagonist to transform player irritation into empathy, identification, and unexpected affection.
Books
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

They by Helle Helle review a novel to make the reader slow down and take notice

A Danish novel explores the deepening bond between a teenage daughter and terminally ill mother through minimalist prose that captures unspoken emotional intimacy and life's quiet, defining moments.
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

A realistic take on marriage': readers on their favourite lesser-known movie romances

The Truth About Cats & Dogs A somewhat forgotten 90s romcom which is Cyrano retold in 90s LA. Brit Ben Chaplin is a delightfully incompetent owner of a large dog who mistakes Uma Thurman's producer for Janeane Garofalo's radio presenter of a pet advice radio phone-in. Garofalo and Chaplin completely steal the film I do wish people had given her more roles after it and it's touching, silly and (I've discovered over the years) a film for people like me who don't really like romcoms or romantic films in particular.
Film
fromHer Campus
1 month ago

The Space Between Then and Now: Modern Storytelling

Storytelling is shaped by the way we engage with it. In the past, narratives unfolded slowly, giving the audience time to reflect and analyze at their own pace. Classic games, podcasts, and films provided the audience with time to settle into the narrative, and for emotions to build up gradually. These slower forms of media created room for reflection and engagement, allowing audiences to process narratives thoughtfully.
Digital life
Television
fromBustle
2 months ago

'Vanished' Starts Sweet, Then Drops You Into A Twist-Heavy Mystery You'll Devour

A woman’s romantic trip turns into a dangerous, twisty thriller as she pursues her mysteriously disappeared boyfriend across Europe, becoming a competent, action-ready heroine.
Video games
fromGameSpot
2 months ago

Here Are The Best Detective Games To Check Out

Industry layoffs and studio closures coincide with major game updates, gameplay impressions, character trailers, and recommendations including Steam Detective Fest deals and free PC games.
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 months ago

Uncomfortably relatable': writers on their favourite unlikeable movie characters

In one scene, an adoring fan asks Melvin his secret to writing women. I think of a man, and I take away reason and accountability, he says, an epic burn forever seared in my brain. Of course Melvin's anti-charm offensive only goes so far in a James L Brooks project. Before long, the rudeness erodes as Melvin is forced on to a journey of self-discovery with the nextdoor neighbor he can't abide (Greg Kinnear) and the diner waitress he can't live without (Helen Hunt).
Film
Books
fromThe Atlantic
1 month ago

How to Put Sex in a Novel

Contemporary literary fiction increasingly avoids depicting heterosexual intimacy while queer novelists freely explore sex's complexities, as exemplified by Jan Saenz's unconventional novel about selling experimental orgasm-inducing pills.
Writing
fromThe Atlantic
2 months ago

Taking the Internet Novel Offline

Depicting internet-mediated life requires new narrative strategies that ground online behavior in familiar forms like family drama to keep readers engaged.
fromInverse
2 months ago

The Best Character of 2026 Is Totally Unexpected

Trails Beyond the Horizon's new character, Ulrika, is like staring into the abyss of a broken TikTok algorithm, and while my knee-jerk reaction might have been shock and even a little disdain, over the next 100 hours, I grew to find the character's bit surprisingly genuine and, admittedly, hilarious. What first felt like a gimmick grew to become one of my absolute favorite parts of the game, enhancing the already distinct personality of the Trails games.
Video games
Film
fromThe New Yorker
2 months ago

"Dead Man's Wire" Is a Tangle of Loose Threads

A DJ's improvised on-air intervention and a TV reporter's determination highlight media influence and legal, law-enforcement complexities, though broader ambitions remain underdeveloped.
Books
fromThe Atlantic
1 month ago

When Did Literature Get Less Dirty?

Philip Roth's Zuckerman Unbound functioned as a response to the controversial reception of Portnoy's Complaint, with Roth's protagonist expressing regret over writing sexually explicit material that drew accusations of anti-Semitism and misogyny.
Arts
fromwww.npr.org
2 months ago

'Islands' is a spare and satisfying slow-burn thriller

Islands is a spare, slow-burn drama set on barren Fuerteventura that examines alienation and luxury through a broken tennis pro's interactions with a wealthy family.
Television
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 months ago

I'm a crime writer. Here's why we make the best Traitors contestants

Crime fiction specialists' observational, empathetic, and deceptive-character skills make them natural contestants and formidable analysts on The Traitors.
fromSilicon Canals
1 month ago

7 things people do when telling stories that make others tune out immediately without realizing it - Silicon Canals

We've all been there. Someone starts telling a story, and within seconds, your mind starts wandering. Maybe you pull out your phone, suddenly remember an urgent email, or find yourself mentally reorganizing your weekend plans. The storyteller doesn't notice. They keep going, completely unaware that they've lost their audience. After interviewing over 200 people for various articles, I've noticed patterns in how people communicate their experiences. Some captivate you from the first word, while others lose you before they've even gotten to the point.
Writing
Books
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

Ben Markovits: I used to think any book concerned with people falling in love can't be very good'

Reading shaped formative years through detective stories, fantasy epics, and memoirs that provided companionship and escape during frequent moves and family transitions.
Video games
fromKotaku
2 months ago

Split Fiction's Director Dishes On Clair Obscur, EA, And Gen AI

The games industry must preserve diversity across AAA, AA, and indie projects rather than converging solely on perceived 'safe' AA successes.
Television
fromThe Atlantic
2 months ago

What a Reality-TV Novel Understands About Reality

Treating life as a narrative and manipulating that narrative can lead people to sacrifice their humanity for drama.
fromJezebel
1 month ago

Turns Out, When You Write a Novel About Killing a Politician, People Tell You How They'd Do It

When the people who are after me get here, they'll arrest me and put me on trial, or they'll disappear me to some black site. Or they won't bother with any of that and they'll just kill me. All of these seem like plausible outcomes, but in the novel's prologue, the narrator seems much more confident of her success: I am a fucking genius, a gorgeous fucking genius, and the only thing left to do is sit down and write.
Books
Writing
fromThe Atlantic
2 months ago

I am here in the evening light

An enduring presence promises return through nature, offers land and comfort, and reframes endings as ongoing continuity amid memory and quiet dusk.
Video games
fromKotaku
1 month ago

Split Fiction Studio Already Working On Its Next Game

Hazelight is actively developing a new mocap-acted game as a follow-up to 2025's Split Fiction.
fromThe Atlantic
2 months ago

A Romance That Actually Takes Sex Seriously

When I first heard of Heated Rivalry, I didn't think much about it. The words Canadian ice-hockey TV series slid into my brain and slipped right back out. But a week later, approximately everyone I'd ever met wanted to talk about it. People kept telling me that it was fun, sweet, and addicting. Most of all, they emphasized that it was really smutty. Every recommendation seemed to come with a warning to not watch with my parents.
Television
Television
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 months ago

Eternally spellbinding': the TV shows that baffle you but you can't get enough of

Catterick, Monkey Dust, The OA, and Mrs Davies deliver surreal, darkly comic, and increasingly bizarre narratives blending crime, dreamlike animation, sci‑fi, and oddball humor.
Books
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

Myth, monsters and making sense of a disenchanted world: why everyone is reading fantasy

Fantasy is a dominant, all-pervading cultural form offering diverse subgenres, serious artistic value, and lineages from varied creators and traditions.
Television
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 months ago

Competency porn: is there any greater escapism than watching a capable person on TV?

Audiences increasingly seek escapism through media that showcases calm, expert performance and everyday professional competence rather than sensational or fantastical drama.
Books
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

The best recent crime and thrillers review roundup

Two contemporary novels probe suburban domesticity, revealing secrets, manipulation, and moral ambiguity through slow-burn suspense and darkly comic plotting.
fromThe Atlantic
2 months ago

A Biography Without 'The Boring Bits'

Sophia Stewart poses a choice that many biographers struggle with: "what to do with the boring bits."
Books
Books
fromEngadget
1 month ago

What to read this weekend: The unsettling new horror novel, Persona

A trans woman uncovers non-consensual pornography of herself and is drawn into escalating horrors involving identity, exploitation, internet influence, and economic precarity.
Books
fromScary Mommy
1 month ago

People On Reddit Are Sharing The Book That Turned Them Into "Readers"

Childhood favorites, household libraries, and life events like parenthood often spark or revive lifelong reading habits.
Books
fromwww.scientificamerican.com
1 month ago

8 romance novels for readers who love science, too

Romantic novels blend rigorous science and emotional narrative across diverse settings, balancing scientific detail with humor, satire, and varied genre influences.
Books
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

Good People by Patmeena Sabit review addictive mystery caters to modern attention spans

A novel uses short testimonies to unravel a teenager's death while exposing immigrant family dynamics, communal gossip, wealth-driven envy, and cultural tensions.
Books
fromThe New Yorker
2 months ago

A Debut Novel About the Quest for Eternal Youth

The boundary between responsible adult and dependent child has frayed as caregivers flail through midlife while youth confront a crumbling, dishonest world.
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 months ago

The Puma by Daniel Wiles review a visceral tale of cyclical violence

After finding this seam of gold, miner Michael dreams that his son will be able to go to school, rather than join the other children who work in the mine, like blind, bald rodents unearthing themselves in search of scraps of candlelight. In the novel, which won the 2023 Betty Trask prize, everything closes in on Michael: lungs clog, tunnels collapse, horse-drawn narrowboats are attacked by robbers in the sooty dusk. It's a vivid reminder of the cost, in bodily suffering, of resource extraction.
Books
Books
fromThe New Yorker
2 months ago

How Do You Write About the Inexplicable?

Rational skepticism coexists with a persistent tendency to personify evil and read coincidences as omens.
Books
fromArs Technica
2 months ago

TR-49 is interactive fiction for fans of deep research rabbit holes

Research notes in a cataloged database reveal interlinked authors, hidden computer commands, and an unfolding narrative converging on a metaphysical search and encroaching threat.
Books
fromMedium
1 month ago

How to start writing (like it's easy)

A profoundly immersive book can deeply alter readers and provoke self-doubt about one's own creative abilities.
Books
fromThe New Yorker
2 months ago

The Gospel According to Emily Henry

Emily Henry channels rom-com sensibility and religious upbringing to create a fresh, cinematic-influenced romance novel blending humor, nostalgia, and emotional depth.
Books
fromPsychology Today
2 months ago

Curing Zombies in "The Bone Temple"

Monsters evolve to mirror the cultural anxieties and ambitions of their eras, revealing societal fears about race, empire, mental health, and scientific cure.
fromThe Atlantic
2 months ago

Six Books for the Chronic Daydreamer

What is available is the daydream-a limitless realm of freedom. In this other world, one might be famous or rich, finally catch the attention of their beloved, or simply sit on a beach as a waiter brings them cocktails. They might fly or speak to animals, heroically save a child, tell off their boss with no consequences, win the Super Bowl at the whistle, or travel to another continent, planet, or time period. No one can stop them; no one can even object.
Books
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